


Over a beer bottle

by Crystalized_Flowers



Series: The Ways We've Said "I Love You." [5]
Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Ai reveals his robot ness, Alcohol, Established Relationship, I put them through some heartbreaking stuff, M/M, Prompt #5, Ranmaru swears a lot, angst yo, because in canon I'm pretty sure not even QN knows, it's understandable though, man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-14 00:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11772069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystalized_Flowers/pseuds/Crystalized_Flowers
Summary: Aine wakes up, Ranmaru suffers, and Ai goes "overseas" on an indefinite leave.





	Over a beer bottle

**Author's Note:**

> Part of a prompt series, please check out series to understand the timeline. If you don't care about that, you can read this as a one-shot.
> 
> So. Last prompt was about Fem!Ai going overseas right? There's no gender bending in this one, but it did give me some inspiration...
> 
> This actually can be counted as a continuation of canon. In fact, it's probably the most canon one yet.
> 
> AS ages/Anime ages.

Reiji stares at him in dismay. "What does he mean you're leaving, Ai-Ai?"

Everyone else has the same question. They turn from their president who is announcing such outrageous news to stare at the cyan-haired idol, who simply stares calmly back.

"I believe Shining made it clear. I'm going overseas."

"Why?" Syo's voice is disbelieving. "What about Quartet Night? What about us, your kouhais?" He gestures vaguely to himself and Natsuki, seeming more like he is pulling straws to get his senpai to stay.

"Ai-chan..." Natsuki starts.

"You two don't need me. You're fine on your own. You're above average idols." The two gape. They expected to get lectured on how to follow their schedules.

"As for Quartet Night, I can easily be replaced."

"What the fuck do you mean by that?" Most eyes turn to Ranmaru, who is glaring at his group mate with pure fury in his eyes. "If you think we can just replace you with some random-"

"Of course, it's not random," Ai cuts in, though his eyes were on the president this whole entire time. His tone never changes significantly, but those that know him can catch a bit of bitterness in his voice. "Shining."

They almost forgot that their president and teachers were there, watching the spectacle. Shining nods, and as if on cue, a knock sounds on the door.

"Come in."

A man comes in through the door, and for almost half a minute, the idols all stare.

He's practically identical to Ai. His hair is a bit longer, and he opts to keep it down instead of tying it up like Ai does. His face is a bit older, and his eyes are full of experience and warmth, unlike Ai's emotionless ones. Still, no one can deny the resemblance that they share. He doesn't say anything just yet, nodding to Ai and Shining, though his eyes linger on a certain member of Quartet Night.

Tokiya glances back at forth between the two, blinking rapidly, before he asks, "Mikaze-san, do you have an older brother?"

Reiji is frozen.

Ai doesn't reply verbally. He shakes his head. To the confusion of still most of the people in the room, he raises his right wrist and reaches for it with his left hand.

Natsuki and Syo's eyes widen, understanding the movement.

"Ai!" Syo shouts, taking a step forward. "What are you-"

Ai shows his wrist to the group. A collective gasp fills the room.

He  _opened_ his wrist. There is an invisible latch on the skin, and pulling it open reveals the evidence that Mikaze Ai is certainly not human. A little screen is embedded inside, flickering on and displaying his battery percentage.  _71%,_ the little screen flashes before changing to show the time and date.

Ranmaru feels sick. Surrounding the small gadget are wires, and you don't have to look closely to figure out that they don't reach out of Ai's body but further inside. Coiling in his body, causing his mechanical heart (if he even has one) to beat.

How could he not have known? Quartet Night has worked together for  _years_. Sure, Ai was a bit strange sometimes, pulling random data into his speech left and right and maybe  _too_ emotionless - but he had just believed that his group mate was a nerdy kid that just knew too much (which he did) and he  _did_ get emotions once in a while.

(That look of pride on his face when Quartet Night was chosen to participate in the Triple S Entry Concert by Shining himself could  _not_ have been fake. Neither could the pure annoyance he had when Ranmaru and Camus started arguing about something, "especially something as childish as a  _banana_ " he had said in his own words. Neither could the hints of adoration he had shown when Ranmaru first confessed.)

It simply can't be true.

There is no way that he can believe that he fell in love with a  _robot_.

But the source of his inner turmoil confirms it himself.

"I'm an android," Ai says, as casually as he could have said any other sentence with that indifferent face.

The room is full of shocked silence, but Ranmaru's world is crumbling. One look at Reiji, and he can tell he feels the same.

(Though, he only finds out later that Reiji's expression is for a different reason all together.)

"Okay," Syo says slowly, breaking the silence. "Ai, why are you revealing all of this to everyone now?"

And one look at Ai's kouhais and the quiet composer watching on the side tells him that they knew all along.

"Patience, Syo." The little annoyance in his voice cannot be computer-generated. "Now that you know what I am, I'll explain to you why I was made. This is something that not even Ryuuya and Ringo know." He gestures to the teachers, who blink. "Then, you'll all understand. If you don't have a dim mind like Syo's," he adds just for a jibe.

"Hey!"

The smile is small, but it's there. It vanishes in the next moment though.

"Like I told Natsuki, Syo, and Haruka, I was created because Shining wanted an idol robot." Shining looks unashamed, even though Ranmaru really wants to punch him in the face. "But I also serve another purpose."

Ai tells them his story. He tells them about the idol who attempted suicide. He tells them about the uncle who tried to save him. He tells them about the last ditch effort to connect his brain activity to a robot's in order to stimulate his awakening.

"And obviously, it worked." Ai nods stiffly to the man beside him, acknowledging his presence for the first time. "This is the man that I was based off of, Kisaragi Aine. Now that he is awake, he can continue his life. There is no purpose for me, anymore."

Ai seems to be looking for a response, like an acknowledgement that they understand, but their stunned silence lasts too long.

Ai's eyes narrow. "I do not recall being turned into a spectacle. Reiji, aren't you happy? Your best friend is awake again, isn't he? You seemed very disappointed when you realized that I wasn't him when we first met."

Ranmaru can  _hear_ the bitterness in his voice. But if anyone else notices, they do not comment.

The dam breaks.

Reiji rushes to practically tackle Aine to the ground, Ryuuya not far behind, looking relieved to see him. Ai turns and leaves the room.

Ranmaru stares after him, but he never once looks back.

Throughout the whole ordeal, he had never looked at Ranmaru once.

...

Ranmaru sets down his bottle. "You're fifteen."

Ai ignores this. "According to my data, the bar is a usual place for humans to go while stressed or depressed. They try to 'drink away their worries,' correct?"

"Yes," Ranmaru snaps. "And it usually doesn't work when their worries follow them there. How did you even get  _in_?"

"I asked my cousin for his ID. We look identical. It wasn't hard."

"Your cou- oh. That bastard." Ranmaru doesn't even have the strength to yell at him anymore. Everything feels too surreal. "He just gave you his ID?"

"I told him I had to settle things with a lover before I... leave. He knew, of course, since he could see my mind when we were dating, so he let me go as long as I don't tell the professor."

"Tch. Nice to know someone's been watching us all this time."

They fall into a brief silence as Ai takes a seat next to him, though he doesn't touch anything. His normal white clothes are a sharp contrast in such an environment. The only noise is the music in the background.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ranmaru decides to speak, his gaze focused on his bottle as he absentmindedly swirls its contents around.

"You never asked."

"That's bullshit, Ai!" He actually raises his voice now. Some people nearby cast them curious glances, but no one really thinks much of it at their location.

There's a beat of silence, and Ranmaru raises his gaze from his bottle to actually look at Ai. His expression is pensive.

"I guess... I was afraid of losing you," he finally admits. Ranmaru is startled by how  _vulnerable_ and  _insecure_ his voice suddenly sounds. "No one... would want to be with a robot after all."

"Fuck that. I don't give a shit what you are," he grumbles as he turns away so Ai wouldn't see the involuntary blush of embarrassment.

Ai looks momentarily surprised, the same face he uses when he finds something that doesn't match his so-called data (which isn't really so-called now). "Thank you." His voice is soft.

"So, when are you leaving?" Ranmaru's voice is rough and has reverted to indifferent, but Ai can tell that he is calmer now and cares.

Ai hesitates, but answers. "I guess I should tell you, Ranmaru. I-" He inhales. "I'm not going overseas. That was just a cover for the media," he pauses, "and for the rest of Shining Agency to not blow up at me."

Ranmaru shoots up from his relaxed, slouching position. "What-"

"I'm going to be shut down instead," Ai says flatly. "I have served my purpose after all. The professor can reuse my programming."

Ranmaru can't actually process what he is saying. Suddenly, everything seems even worse than before. "You mean..." He can't find his voice.

"It's akin to the human version of 'death,' you can say. I will never wake again."

"...why do you look so calm?" Ai doesn't flinch at the quiet harshness in his voice, but his eyes do look slightly sorrowful.

"I always knew that it would happen," he says. Regret tinges his features. "I know it was unwise of me to pursue a relationship with inevitable death on the line. I apologize for giving you false hope, Ranmaru. It's just... I thought that I could face my inhumanity. But it was never meant to happen. I regret-"

Ranmaru kisses him then, all tongue and full of passion. It is fierce and Ai reciprocates though he is no match for Ranmaru's strength. Ranmaru doesn't care that the person that he's kissing is not human. Ai is still his lover. He whispers three words, over and over again.

"Don't ever regret it," he growls when they pull away, even Ai's face flushed. The android's eyes soften, and finally, the tender emotions reserved for him are in those eyes.

"Thank you," Ai whispers.

When Ai leaves the bar, he finds that it is easier that Ai doesn't look back.

...

When Ai says goodbye to the rest of the agency, Ranmaru isn't present. They have already said their goodbyes after all, in a sense.

But then he receives a text inviting him to visit the professor's laboratory, and he can't pretend to not know what it is about.

He doesn't knock on the door until after he has stood for a good solid five minutes in front of it, barely acknowledging the professor, and pretends he doesn't feel the tears pricking the corner of his eyes when he finds Ai sitting on top of the operation table, wires attached. The android looks over with an exhausted look and a soft smile, holding out his hand. Ranmaru grasps it like he is going to disappear.

Which he is.

He holds his hand as his eyes flutter close, almost too delicate to be mechanical, his features too angelic to be dead.

The professor almost looks regretful as they share their last kiss and Ai is erased from this world with a smile on his face. His sorrow actually shows when Ranmaru kisses Ai's forehead, too cold to be alive, too cold to be expertly regulated at human temperature. As much as Ranmaru detests the professor for doing such a thing to Ai, he also knows that Ai would have never come to life without him. He can't bring himself to hate him completely.

In Ai's final moments, Ranmaru doesn't allow himself to cry. It isn't until he returns to the dorms and he finds with relief that Ren and Masato are gone that he finally breaks down.

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, I was going to write a new chapter for Crown of Destiny instead for today, but google docs refuses to load and I never finished this series because no one was reading/leaving comments so-
> 
> Also I was like "shit" while writing this because I've been reading WAAAY too much RinTori this morning and I'm totally in Free! mode god someone help I think I made Ran and Ai (UtaPri Ai, brain!!) a bit OOC.
> 
> This is not freaking beta'd I wrote it in two sittings, didn't edit it, and went out for dinner in between.
> 
> Anyways, happy birthday to the voice actors of Natsuki and Ai, Taniyama Kishou and my seiyuu bias, Aoi Shouta!! (I find it funny that those involved in the Kawaii Trio like to share birthdays a lot. They all have like a counterpart: Kaoru, Satsuki, Aine. Then you include Hayato - what is with Utapri and near identical characters, is this plot old yet??)
> 
> Ooh, also this is my 21st work posted here, funny that's the drinking age for my country.


End file.
